Unwanted telephone calls to the home or to one's place of business can be intrusive. As a result, many telephone customers use unlisted numbers to avoid having their telephone numbers too widely available to telemarketers and other parties who might disturb the customer with an unwanted call. Nevertheless, if the customer divulges their unlisted telephone number, there is always the possibility that unwanted callers will obtain the number and will therefore be able to call the customer.
Caller identification (ID) is a presently available service that many customers use to screen telephone calls. Telephone calls today are generally accompanied by caller identification information that identifies the telephone number of the calling party. The caller identification information is passed through the telephone network with the telephone call. The recipient of the telephone call can use caller identification equipment to extract the caller identification information (i.e., the calling party's telephone number) and display this information before the call is answered. If the called party does not wish to answer a telephone call placed from a particular telephone number, the called party can simply refrain from answering the call. If, however, the called party recognizes a caller identification number as belonging to a friend or family member, the called party is free to answer the telephone.
The caller identification service is satisfactory in many respects. However, the called party must remember the telephone number of each party from whom the called party wishes to receive a telephone call. If many telephone numbers are involved, it may be burdensome to remember all of the numbers. In addition, a separate piece of caller identification equipment must be provided for each telephone, which may be an undesirable requirement in homes with more than one or two telephones.
It is therefore an object of the present invention to provide an improved arrangement for screening incoming telephone calls.